A Feather Cage
by Zorknot
Summary: The type of cage is unimportant, only the lack of freedom. Short fic. Post episode 66


A Feather Cage  
by Zorknot  
  
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Inuyasha were originally   
conceived by Takahashi Rumiko.   
  
WARNING:This takes place sometime after episode 66 of the anime. So   
there are some spoilers. Also note that I'm basing this on the anime  
and not the manga and that while I try to follow cannon, I may change  
a few things for kicks. Feel free to flame me if this pisses you off.  
  
This is just a small fic about one of my favorite Inuyasha characters.   
I like it and I hope you will too.  
  
~~~~~[BEGIN]~~~~~  
  
Kagura stepped out into the courtyard of Naraku's castle. It was   
night and the stars looked down on her in disdain. "You do not   
belong among us," they sang in their dark perches, "You are an   
abomination... a collection of parts given life through the hatred of   
a weak human. The soul of that man still exists in the demon you   
call master."   
  
Naraku  
  
She had her chance to escape him that night of the new moon, and   
lost it. She barely got the chance to enjoy her freedom, and then it   
was gone. Damn Seshoumaru, damn Kouga, damn Naraku...and   
damn Kagura. This Kagura, so proud, so sure, so free... had   
lowered herself to asking for the aid of the dog Sesshoumaru, and   
the mutt told her to defeat her master herself! As if it was   
something easy, as if she were stupid...as if she were afraid.  
  
The agony of it is that she WAS afraid. She longed to free of   
Naraku's limited vision, of his maddening, sickening one track   
mind. But she had the same spider shaped scar on her back, and   
she was not sure how else she might be connected. If she attacked   
Naraku herself that night maybe she'd have been successful, or   
maybe she would have died. Even that dark unknown was   
something she would be willing to risk now. But to return to that   
dreadful half existence inside Naraku's body, that endless string of   
pain, hunger, and need among thousands of spirits all struggling   
for dominion...   
  
She had seen the inside of Hell and did not want to go back.  
  
She took a white feather out from behind her ear. It was a simple,   
ordinary-looking feather. It came from no bird. It was as much a   
part of her as she is a part of Naraku, but she could lose the feather.   
She could toss it to the winds and an errant traveler might pick it   
up and think nothing of it. This Kagura would simply produce   
another and life would progress.   
  
Naraku could not produce another Kagura, and so she was stuck.   
Naraku was strong even as he stagnated behind his barrier,   
planning his next move. He would not free her, even if she became   
unnecessary. He needed the control... he craved power. He took no   
time to appreciate what existed in the world before he raped it,   
consumed it, and immolated it in the fires of his being. And if she   
ever became unnecessary he might do exactly that to her.  
  
Kagura stroked the feather's soft surface with her hand, frowning.   
There had to be a way out. Someway she could sneak past his   
defenses, overcome his control...But she couldn't think of   
anything. Her only hope rested with Inuyasha and his companions.   
Those idiots...  
  
She had found them humorous in the beginning. They seemed to   
flail about like rats in a maze, going one way, then another as soon   
as that way proved blocked. Not once did it ever seem they had   
any idea of what was really going on, that at the center of the maze   
lay death. She played handmaiden to the Minotaur out of   
amusement, and at first it had been amusing...but then...  
  
She met defeat at their hands far too often. Once or twice and it   
could be coincidence or luck, but only a fool would believe that   
luck alone got them as far as they have gotten. In her heart she   
knew who would win in a battle between her and Inuyasha. She   
would never openly admit it, but she knew. Kagura was a proud   
demon, but lately she was beginning to see herself as one of the   
rats...except she was trying to find a way out.  
  
She threw the feather to the ground and it enlarged until she could   
sit on it comfortably with room to spare. It rose into the air at her   
command, and she luxuriated in the feel of the cool, crisp wind at   
her face. She looked down at the towns with their meager torch   
lights, their pathetic, fragile signs of life. She used to laugh at   
them. She used to think of how with a simple action she could   
blow those lights out, then she could kill each and every one of the   
villagers, reanimate their bodies and use the undead army to   
destroy village after village until all humans were mere puppets   
under her control...  
  
Now she couldn't laugh. Now she felt beaten down. Now the   
flames seemed to beckon her..."Come down, feel our warmth. We   
will give you shelter. We will give you strength. We forgive you.   
Join us!" But of course she couldn't. Even if she wanted to, she   
could not. Not as long as Naraku lived. Not as long as she   
remained a prisoner.  
  
Flying used to make her feel so powerful, so free. Now caught   
between the strong, constant light of the heavens and the weak,   
mercurial flames of the earth, she felt the cold metal bars of her   
cage close in on her, pressing against her skin and squeezing...  
  
Looking up at the stars, she realized she held no love for them   
anymore. They had abandoned her. Or maybe she never really   
belonged among them. She floated downward before she even   
realized what she was doing. She landed in the center of a small   
village, torches lighting the sign of a tavern. She stepped off the   
feather and picked it up once it returned to normal size. She almost   
put it back behind her ear but then reconsidered.  
  
She stared at the ridges radiating out, at the fluff of down where   
the stem met the blade. She could not be free, but she wants to   
pretend. As long as she had this feather she could not do that. She   
held it out at arms length. She took in a breath, and then let it go. It   
curled and twisted away in the light evening wind. Turning back to   
the tavern, she ripped a strip off her kimono and tied it around her   
head to cover her pointy ears. Naraku would know what she was   
doing. That backstabbing brat Kanna would see to that. But this   
Kagura could just say she was gathering information, and in the   
meantime, maybe she could forget for a moment...who she really   
was.  
  
Maybe... she could forget the stars existed.  
  
~~~~~[END]~~~~~  
  
AN: This was intended to be a one shot but I do have some rough ideas  
for another chapter. I've already got like nine fics I'm working on  
but who knows what might happen. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.  
  
The only way I know how well I'm doing is by reviews so it'd be really  
cool if you gave me one. Thanks for reading, and may your computer be  
forever functional. 


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